If I Die Young, Bury Me in Satin
by TreesAreSnazzy
Summary: It didn't matter what the kids and old men said; no one could know the woods. They breathed. They moved. They grew.   'The woods are alive,' rushed through my head. 'Alivealivealive.'    -lyrics in title from "If I Die Young" by the Band Perry-.
1. Chapter 1

_Hi guys! So I'm still not much of a SPN fanfic writer (there's just so much canon to keep in mind, it's hard! Not to mention wanting to write the boys right) and as you might be able to tell, this didn't start as a FF, but once I'd written this I couldn't think of who or what could help or happen to this girl without it sounding suspiciously like an episode of SPN. So here you go! I hope you like it. Criticism is huuuuugely appreciated!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural._

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><p>The wind whipped my hair around my face as I ran, ran, the force of the oxygen I sucked in burning at my throat. My feet felt all wrong as they struggled to grip at the rocks and ruts beneath my shoes and my ankles turned to touch the dirt at about every third step.<p>

_The woods are alive_, rushed through my head. _Alivealivealive_.

I kept running, gripping the leash so tightly that my hand went numb and so did my certaintly that the leash was there. A fresh wave a panic rose from the depths of my stomach and I stumbled as I looked down.

"Deojee," I breathed. The terrier galloped beside me, panting harshly. But he wouldn't stop either. "Alive, Deojee." My legs felt like rubber but I kept running. _Alivealivealive._

The path narrowed and the branches tunneled over me. I wouldn't realize it until later, but my headband, a simple thing with a white satin bow, would snag on its cruel fingers.

It would become a symbol of my youth to those to who loved me. My short life.

But I wasn't dead.

Yet.


	2. Chapter 2

_And now it gets SPN-ly :)_

_Disclaimer from the last chapter remains intact!_

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><p>"Arcadia Management Area, approximately 14,000 acres and adjacent to Pachaug State Forest which is …" Sam scrolled down the page, eyes flickering back and forth before resting on a number. "27,000 acres."<p>

Dean gave him a blank stare from across the much too small diner booth. Call him crazy, but he wasn't wild about playing footsies with his little brother all through breakfast.

They hadn't had any hunts in a couple weeks when Evvie Harper went missing and the whole state went into a panic.

"How the hell is anyone supposed to find her in that?" Dean kicked one of Sam's size thirteeners away from his knee. "Seriously, dude?"

Sam furrowed his brow in confusion (what else was he supposed to do with his lower body? It wasn't very well his fault that American diners- and hotel beds, and baseball stadiums, and fair rides- weren't made for people of healthy height, like himself).

"This could be tricky. How do we even know that this is our kinda thing? How do we know that, tragic as it is, this wasn't just some nineteen year old girl who went for hike with her dog fell and hit her head on a rock or something?"

Dean shoveled a forkful of apple pie in his mouth and, chewing, gesturing for Sam to give him the laptop. Sam surveyed the interior of Snoopy's Diner, laughing a little to himself as he realized that the Fight of the Red Baron was piping through the speaker system. There were probably about ten people, reading the paper and absentmindedly sipping coffee and gnawing on toast. It appeared that all of them were wearing white satin ribbons tied to their wrists.

He turned his eyes on the waitresses to see if the same went for them. They were young blonde girls who looked to be sisters, behind the counter, giggling to themselves and eying him. He gave them a smile (taking note of the ribbons tied to their ponytails) before looking down to examine the menu. A few moments later, one walked over, two glasses of light brown liquid clutched in her hands.

Sam shook his head, though he still smiled, forever polite. "Oh sorry, we didn't order-"

"On the house," the girl grinned, making Sam notice her early summer freckles across her nose. Once again, his forehead crinkled (and if he wasn't mistaken, it was this that caused a fresh burst of laughter from the sisters) and he cautiously raised the glass to his lips.

It was syrupy sweet but had the bite of coffee but it was cold and heavy like-

"Milk," the other sister giggled, leaning over the counter. "Coffee milk. Totally a state cliché but if you could have seen your face-"

"Wrinkles!"

And they dissolved into laughter once again, gripping the counter for balance. He laughed, shaking his head, before turning to Dean.

Dean was resting his flannel clad elbow on the table, one finger in the air to hook Sam's attention.

"All the articles are short, mostly talking about the woods and area, and what a good kid she is and safety in searching for her and stuff, but listen to the comment someone left on this one: _'This is crazy. Either something took Evvie or she was never there to begin with. As soon as her little brother got to the woods he knew something was wrong. The kid went crazy and their parents checked him into Butler' _- that's the local nuthouse- '_'We need to find Evvie NOW._"

Dean stopped reading and took a sip of the milk that had been placed before him. Suddenly his eyes widened and he continued to gulp the rest of the glass.

"DUDE this stuff is AWESOME. Is this coffee? What is it?"

Sam rolled his eyes. "Coffee milk, local delicacy. Those girls gave it to us."

"I'm never drinking coffee again! We need a thermos of this stuff!"

"It doesn't actually have caffeine in it, Dean-"

Suddenly Dean punched Sam in the shoulder. He cringed. "Ow!"

"What do you think you're doing, drinking anything anyone puts in front of you?"

Sam was bewildered. "Dean, you did-"

"Whatever!" Dean barked, putting the argument to a halt. Then he lowered his voice so the nosy girls at the counter couldn't hear. "If this is _some_thing, it could be _any_thing. Wendigo, Tulpa, Rawhead, Striga …"

"Those last two attack kids, Dean. I mean sure, she's a kid, but she's not really a _kid." _Sam raised his voice back to normal speaking level. "What I want to know is how they know for sure that she was in there at all and didn't really just runaway."

"She didn't run away," one of the sisters said suddenly. Both Sam and Dean looked up at her, surprised.

"Oh yeah, sweet stuff, and how do you know that?" Dean asked.

She glanced at freckled sister before touching a hand to the ribbon in her hair.

"They found her headband, one with a white bow on it, hanging from a tree."

"At first it was for the search, so you could know who was looking and who knew what had happened. But Evvie knew those woods, everyone says so."

Sam again found himself looking at the ribbons on people's wrists around the diner. "So what's it for now?" He dreaded the answer.

Tears welled up in the girl's green eyes. "Now everyone thinks she's dead."


End file.
